'This is Newfoundland's production,' says Come From Away producer ahead of Gander opening

"This has been a dream," said Michael Rubinoff, speaking with CBC News ahead of this coming Friday's opening performance of Come From Away at the Joseph R. Smallwood Arts and Culture Centre in Gander.

For the Toronto-based Rubinoff, the Gander performances are the culmination of more than a decade of his life.

A lawyer and theater producer, Rubinoff conceived of the idea of doing a musical set in Gander during 9/11 and partnered with writers David Hein and Irene Sankoff to create the work in the early 2010s. After initially being staged at Ontario's Sheridan College in 2013, the musical made its Broadway debut in 2017 and instantly became a global hit with critics and audiences alike.

"When we started doing Come From Away, in its early development, I remember talking with David Hein and Irene Sankoff, saying,"Wouldn't it be amazing if one day we could do a full production in Gander?'" said Rubinoff.

"You have a career in theatre, you work on many different shows and it is always special. This is a whole other level of special."

The Gander performances are scheduled to run until Sept. 3.

"This is Newfoundland's production," Rubinoff said. "It's a celebration of the entire community, and that's what we're focused on and that has made it really joyous and placed an importance on what we're doing in a more meaningful way."

And though the Arts andCulture Centre isn't a Broadway-level theatre, Rubinoff said his teamisstill delivering a Broadway-level production.

"It's actually a pretty good theatre, to be honest," he said. "The view from every single seat from the back to the front is excellent. It's got a good-sized stage. We had to obviously augment equipment so that we can provide the best lighting and the best sound experience."

As well, the production features actors who have performed the musical in other theatres around the world, including Stuart Hickey, who was in London's West End production.

"I've loved seeing this," said Rubinoff, of the British actor being in Newfoundland.

"It's blowing his mind. That might seem odd to some locals, but it's reallyspecial because I don't think he ever imagined doing the show in London's West End and then actually being in Gander, rehearsing, meeting the people, visiting the sites. It's so much fun watching him experience everything here."

The 37 performances scheduled for Gander have sold out.

The production has beentracking the postal codes of people who bought tickets online, said Rubinoff, and it seems to be acting as a tourist attraction.

"We do have a significant number from Newfoundland, but pages and pages are from Canada and the United States, and then we have people from as far away as Japan, Israel, Buenos Aires, the U.K.," Rubinoff said.

"People truly are coming from around the world to see the show where the story unfolded."

Keeping the momentum

The global success of the musical has enabled Rubinoff to create a new program in Ontario with the hopes of inspiring the next hit Canadian musical.

"We've got great storytellers in this country, especially in this province" he said.

Theatre Aquarius in Hamiltonis home to Rubinoff's National Centre for New Musicals.

"This is going to be a $2-million investment in developing new stories and giving writers the opportunity to fail," Rubinoff said, explaining thatcreating a musical is often a process of trial and error.

"Making musical theatre is really hard. You need to test the material, you need musicians that are skilled to sing and play the musicand you need time. And this initiative will give us an opportunity to accelerate that work on a professional level."

The program aims to develop two to four musicals every year for the next five years and looks to support both emerging and established composers, lyricists and more.

"It's all different stages," Rubinoff said.

"It might be people that have an idea that they want to try out, maybe somebody that has a completed first draft of the script that they want to try out. I hope we'll see many more Come From Away successes."

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